FOOD IS PROBABLY TOO IMPORTANT TO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY...

…but, hey, there are worst things to be addicted to I suppose!

As soon as my friend Jeff Wilson arrived in Harriman, we began his visit with a lunch feast at Midtown, Tennessee’s “Good Ol’ Days Diner” with hot dogs and burgers. The hot dog I had, pictured here was a delight with a sweet tasting slaw and corn nuggets. If you travel through this area (Intersection of Hwys 29 and 70), you must try any of the treats here!

After a day of hiking and sightseeing, we took Jeff to Big Ed’s Pizza in Oak Ridge, TN. Big Ed (Jr.) had expanded the draft beer selection to include two of my favorite pal ales, Fat Tire and Yuengling. I was absolutely thrilled and will go there twice as often now for sure. The pizzas were made to perfection, as only Big Ed’s staff has been making them since 1970. It is a must if traveling through East Tennessee – it’s an institution!

At breakfast the following morning, I started the day with a Ciabatta Breakfast Sandwich at Mimi’s Café at Turkey Creek in Knoxville. Between the great bread is an egg, grilled ham, bacon, garlic spinach, tomato, cheddar cheese, and citrus remoulade!

Jeff picked out the huge Chipotle Breakfast Burrito, which was stuffed with scrambled eggs, shredded beef, green onions, cilantro and black beans, all topped with chipotle sauce and melted cheeses, and served with red skin potatoes!

Jeff and I met Judy, Neena, Ron, and Corey at the Wild Wings Café that evening to cap off a wonderful day of shopping at the Smoky Mountain Knife Works, Bass Pro Shop, and Gander Mountain. Man, we were so hungry for some wings!

As I have documented, Judy and I went to Memphis with Jeff on Wednesday morning. GO HERE for two post on the wonderful time we had last week! In Memphis we treated ourselves to BBQ!

Our first outing was at Charles Vergo’s Rendezvous Charcoal Ribs. The Rendezvous has been in Memphis since 1948. If dry-rub ribs are your weakness, then you must drop by there and pig (on pun intended)! You can see the guys working the BBQ beef and pork in the kitchen from your table. You’ll notice that there are just as many orders “to go” as dine-in! The place is a bee hive of activity. Oh yes, they ship too!

On Thursday night, we made it over to Neely’s Bar-B-Que (west). In February 1988, four brothers (Gaelin, Tony, Mark and Patrick) launched into the barbeque business. They opened their first restaurant in downtown Memphis, with only tables, chairs and one BBQ pit. The brothers started building a reputation of hard work, great BBQ and consistently good service. Four years later after a huge demand we expanded to an East Memphis location, which was opened in October of 1992.

To our delight, these “wet” ribs were sweet and delicious. We also tried the pull-pork and BBQ spaghetti! The spaghetti was a wonderful surprise for us all.

Well, I’ve made myself hungry, so I have to go now. I think there is some “chicken-chili” ready in the kitchen!

SPICY CHICKEN WINGS

As you know from my other blog, I was in Alabama this weekend. So, we did not buy provisions last week and made do on what we had to make it until we left Friday morning.

I found some Tyson Frozen Chicken Wings and decided “hot wings” is what we will have for supper Thursday evening.

I placed the full bag, about 27 mixed pieces of “flats” and “drums” on a greased baking sheet and heated the oven to 400 degrees. I cooked the uncovered wings for about 50 minutes, taking them out and turning them after about 30 minutes.

About 10 minutes before the wings came out of the oven, I heated 1/3 stick of butter, 2 or 3 tablespoons of vinegar, 4 tablespoons of my favorite hot sauce, 1 cup of hot and spicy barbeque sauce, and about ¼ cup of honey in a large skillet.

As soon as the wings came out of the oven, I tossed them into the hot, sweet, and spicy mixture and continued to toss them repeatedly until fully coated in the sauce.

I served the wings with a frosty glass of Old Scratch beer and plenty of paper towels!

If you like you wings a little crunchy, I suggest broiling them for about 5 minutes on each side prior to tossing them in the sauce.

Finger licking good!

CAVEMAN EATS OUT

Run chickens run! The caveman was out and about today with his son and Bailey’s Sports Grille’s hot and honey chicken wings filled the bill! I had at least 16 of them and man, were they ever yummy!

Corey, not a caveman, had the Buffalo wings, 3 of my wings, and chocolate cheesecake.

He drank about 7 or 8 glasses of tea and I had 3 Killians.

Great day for the Paleolithic dude!